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Bill

HB 786

Working Families Act.

2025-2026 Session Introduced by Eric Ager and 45 co-sponsors

Establishes a state paid family leave program with employer cost-offset grants to support paid leave for workers.

Passed 1st Reading
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 786

Summary — HB 786: "Working Families Act"

Status: Introduced Nov 12, 2024; Passed 1st Reading (per provided status).
Primary sponsor (NC version): Rep. Billy (or Rep.) Pittman (document lists Pittman as sponsor); the bill text is the North Carolina “Working Families Act.”

Purpose
- A multi-part package of policies intended to reduce costs for families, raise worker wages, expand tax and housing supports for lower- and middle-income households, and establish a state paid family leave program with employer cost-offset grants.

Key provisions (selected)
- Child care copayments
- Lowers parent copayments for subsidized child care from 10% to 7% of gross family income.
- Effective: July 1, 2025.

  • Child tax credit

    • Reenacts a North Carolina child tax credit (amounts shown in the bill: typically $125 or $250 per qualifying child depending on filing status and income bands).
    • The credit is refundable if it exceeds tax liability.
    • Effective for taxable years beginning on or after Jan 1, 2025.

  • Minimum wage increases and local authority

    • Raises the statewide minimum wage in steps:
    • Jan 1, 2026: $10.00/hour
    • Jan 1, 2027: $12.00/hour
    • Jan 1, 2028: $13.00/hour
    • Jan 1, 2029: $14.00/hour
    • Jan 1, 2030: $15.00/hour
    • Beginning Jan 1, 2031, the wage will be adjusted annually by CPI-based indexing.
    • The bill also allows higher local minimum wages in jurisdictions that choose to set them.

  • Property tax homestead circuit breaker

    • Increases the income eligibility limit(s) and adjusts the percentage of income threshold used to limit property taxes for qualifying low-income homeowners (the bill raises the program’s eligibility/threshold parameters; exact new brackets are included in the bill text).
    • Effective for taxes imposed for taxable years beginning on or after July 1, 2025.

  • Homebuyers’ Assistance Program (for public servants)

    • Directs the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency to create a first-time homebuyer assistance program targeted at public servants (definitions in the bill include firefighters, law enforcement, EMS, active duty members, etc.).
    • Program details (assistance type, underwriting, income limits) are established in the bill text.

  • North Carolina Paid Family Leave Insurance Act

    • Establishes a state paid family leave insurance program (benefit design and eligibility referenced in bill).
    • Creates an Employer Grant Fund to partially offset employer costs associated with the program and appropriates funds for that purpose.

Who is affected
- Families receiving subsidized child care (lower copays).
- Taxpayers with qualifying dependent children (child tax credit).
- Low-wage workers (higher minimum wage; potential local wage increases).
- Employers (higher payroll costs; eligible for grants to offset some paid-leave costs).
- First-time homebuyers who are public servants (new assistance).
- Low-income homeowners (expanded homestead circuit breaker relief).
- State agencies (program administration) and the state budget (through potential increased expenditures and tax credits).

Timing / Effective dates (selected)
- Child care copay reduction: July 1, 2025.
- Child tax credit: taxable years beginning Jan 1, 2025.
- Minimum wage phase-in: Jan 1, 2026–2030; CPI-indexing begins for 2031 adjustments.
- Circuit breaker changes: taxes for taxable years beginning July 1, 2025.
- Other program-specific effective dates and implementation details are contained in the bill text.

Potential fiscal and policy impacts
- Increased wages for many workers and reduced child-care costs for eligible families.
- Direct costs to employers (partly offset by grant fund) and administrative costs for state agencies to operate new programs (paid leave, homebuyer assistance, housing agency programs).
- Fiscal impacts depend on program design detail (benefit levels, eligibility, grant size) and are not fully quantified in the excerpt; the bill would likely require budgetary appropriations and implementation planning.

Notes
- The bill is a comprehensive, multi-topic package; the summary above highlights major provisions included in the Working Families Act text provided. For program-level rules, benefit formulas, eligibility thresholds, and precise fiscal estimates, consult the full bill text and any attached fiscal notes.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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